A meeting minutes template people actually read.
Meeting minutes are the short written record of what a meeting decided and who's doing what next. Good minutes are read in a minute and save the next meeting from repeating this one. Here's a template you can copy, what belongs in it, an example, and how to take minutes when the meeting is remote.
By Jitto Joseph3 min read
What minutes are for
Minutes aren't a transcript. Nobody reads a word-for-word record, and writing one keeps the note-taker out of the conversation.
Write down what will matter next week: what was decided, what was left open, and who agreed to do what by when. If someone missed the meeting, the minutes should be enough for them to act.
A meeting minutes template
Copy this into your notes or your team chat at the start of the meeting and fill it in as you go.
| Section | What to write |
|---|---|
| Meeting | Name, date, and who was there |
| Purpose | One line: why the meeting happened |
| Decisions | Each decision in one sentence, as it was agreed |
| Actions | What, who, and by when, one per line |
| Open questions | What wasn't settled, and who will follow up |
| Next meeting | When, and anything to prepare |
What to include
- Decisions, word for word. Write the decision the way the group agreed it, so nobody remembers a different version later.
- Actions with a name and a date. "Look into pricing" gets forgotten. "Sam: three pricing options by Friday" gets done.
- Open questions. What was raised and not settled, so it doesn't vanish between meetings.
- Who was there. One line. It tells readers who to ask about what was said.
What to leave out
- Who said what. Unless it's a formal meeting that needs it, attributing every comment slows the writing and the reading.
- The whole discussion. One line of context for a decision is enough. The minutes are the outcome, not the debate.
- Opinions about the meeting. Keep the minutes neutral. Feedback on how the meeting went belongs in a retro.
An example
Weekly product meeting, 14 October. Ana, Sam, Priya, Tom. Purpose: decide the launch date and the pricing page.
Decisions: the launch moves to Thursday 23 October. The pricing page shows monthly prices only. Actions: Sam, final pricing copy by Monday. Priya, launch email draft by Tuesday. Tom, check the sign-up flow on mobile by Wednesday. Open question: whether to offer a yearly plan later; Ana will bring numbers next week. Next meeting: 21 October.
Taking minutes in a remote meeting
- Share the notes on screen. When everyone sees the minutes being written, mistakes get fixed on the spot and nobody argues about them later.
- Read the actions back. Spend the last two minutes reading out each action, owner and date. It's the most useful two minutes of the meeting.
- Rotate the note-taker. The person writing can't lead the discussion. Take turns, and don't always ask the newest or quietest person.
- Post them where the team works. In the team chat, within the hour, so people who weren't there see them the same day.
After the meeting
- 1.
Send the minutes
The same day, in the team chat or the channel for that project.
- 2.
Check the actions
Start the next meeting by going through last time's actions: done, in progress or stuck.
- 3.
Keep them in one place
A single document or channel per meeting, newest first, so decisions can be found later.